Former African Footballer of the 12 months, Victor Ikpeba, has urged the Tremendous Eagles’ forwards to share the goalscoring duty with Victor Osimhen, warning that Nigeria’s World Cup desires might be in danger if the group continues to rely solely on the Galatasaray striker.
Ikpeba, who was a part of Nigeria’s golden era within the Nineties, mentioned he was involved by how typically the Eagles battle to seek out targets every time Osimhen is unavailable or tightly marked.
In accordance with him, the group should discover new sources of targets if they’re to progress via the powerful World Cup playoff fixtures forward.
“It’s worrying that we discover it tough to attain when Osimhen doesn’t play,” Ikpeba mentioned. “He’s an unbelievable striker, top-of-the-line on the earth proper now, however soccer is a group sport. Others have to step up — it will possibly’t be all about one participant.”
The previous AS Monaco ahead, famously nicknamed ‘The Prince of Monaco’, added that Nigeria’s wealth of attacking expertise should begin producing persistently, particularly in huge video games.
“We have now gamers like Ademola Lookman, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, and Terem Moffi — these are prime professionals. They need to take extra duty and begin scoring often,” Ikpeba continued.
He famous that whereas Osimhen’s ardour and starvation typically carry the group, over-reliance may make Nigeria predictable to opponents like Gabon, who the Eagles will face within the continental playoffs in Morocco subsequent month.
“Osimhen units the tone together with his vitality and dedication, however the others should match that depth,” Ikpeba burdened. “If everybody contributes, Nigeria can qualify and make an actual assertion on the 2026 World Cup.”
The Tremendous Eagles are anticipated to start their remaining section of preparation subsequent week as they goal to safe one in every of Africa’s coveted spots on the world showpiece.
